Young & Restless’ Launch Party Never Got Off the Ground — Plus, Victoria’s Gunning for Newman Enterprises and Oh, Those Fabulous Flashbacks

Credit: CBS screenshot

The Chancellor-Winters launch may have been a triumph for Devon and Lily, but not so much for Young & Restless. Fatigue has set in with the plethora of business stories that aren’t actually stories, and — oh joy — Victoria’s about to start yet another media division. The soap did take us on a welcome trip down memory lane to mark the anniversaries of characters Traci and Ashley.

Nope, Nada, Nothing

Whenever there’s a gathering the likes of the Chancellor-Winters launch party, the scene is perfectly set for catching up, snarking, conflict, and of course, for some big drama to go down. When the function first kicked off this week, it was kinda boring, but that was okay, I expected to listen to them drone on about the business to some extent. But as the party continued, so did the snoozefest. We actually had to sit through all the speeches, which if you’ll recall at the Newman Media launch, took a backseat to the real “main event”, which was Sally and Phyllis throwing down — or throwing ice water on each other as the case may be.

An opportunity presented itself for soapy goodness when Diane inadvertently crashed, but other than a couple of tense interactions with Nikki and Abby, it went right back out the door with her when she left.

Okay, I thought, there’s still hope because Nate’s going to go rogue. That will cause a big scene. Will Devon punch him again? Will he get publicly fired? Drink too much champagne and make out with Imani? Nope, nope and nope. Nada. Nothing. Nate did reveal details he wasn’t supposed to (God forbid the world finds out they’re planning more podcasts), but it hardly made a ripple.

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This merger and its various off shoots (Billy’s podcast) have been a cure for insomnia from the get-go. It attempts to play on history with the Katherine and Neil mentions, yet somehow falls short of having heart… or an actual story.

This storyline is so boring. Feels like filler when it’s on. Just blathering about business decisions and no real drama happening. Only excitement was when Nate went rogue with his announcement but nobody really even got mad!

— Christine L-B (@Christinelb563) June 16, 2022

Those Were the Days

Congratulations to Eileen Davidson and Beth Maitland on 40 years of playing the Abbott sisters, Ashley and Traci. Their anniversary episode was, happily, chock full of flashbacks. Fabulous flashbacks! Getting to relive Traci, Ashley, Danny, Brad and Victor back in the day was just awesome. I loved being reminded of the old rivalries between Ashley and Nikki, and Traci and Lauren… that raw emotional scene in the rain between Victor and Ashley… Traci asking Dina if she ever really wanted her ( which broke my heart), but it was the one scene with the Abbott patriarch that did me in: John crying when he was trying to get Ashley to remember who she was and come home was a killer. So good! Those really were the days.

I’m not usually one for #YR flashback episodes, but this tribute to @BethMaitlandDQB with @eileen_davidson has been absolutely wonderful! 🙌🙌🙌. Really nice trip down memory lane.
Well done @YandR_CBS !

— Miss_Abby 💜 (@MissAbb37309863) June 17, 2022

Going Out of Business

Victoria may have cut ties with Newman Enterprises and her family in the physical sense, having relocated to New York with Ashland, but it became pretty clear that she hasn’t moved on from them in her mind. No, her focus now is to create a company to compete with Newman Media. So, they’re still sucking her in even though she’s not there. Keep in mind, by the way, that a media division is something that Victoria was vocal about having little use for at Newman Enterprises in the past. Make it make sense.

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Is anyone else just sick of this endless parade of jobs and businesses (which is all talk)? I mean, what does any of it matter if there’s no soapy stories within these living room corporations involving the characters who work there? Does anyone truly care if Kyle helms Jabot or Marchetti? Or if Adam or Victoria runs Newman? What difference will it make? Frankly, I have to wonder how this glut of media companies will even survive — there are no scandals or stories in Genoa City to write about, that’s for sure!

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Can We Keep Her?

Jill was like a snarky breath of fresh air, and one of the only highlights of this short, yet somehow long, week of Young & Restless. Her frank and blunt remarks and sarcastic wit are the stuff of dreams. Watching her spar verbally with Diane was a true delight. Such a broad, just like Katherine. Can we keep her this time?! Please?!

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This is just my opinion. Feel free to join the conversation below.

Want more memories?! Look back on Traci Abbott’s life and loves in the gallery below.